Transformers: Lost Spark
by Dragonlance416
Summary: Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a human with not so humble beginnings found the Autobots and was told about the black hole that threatens to destroy the universe that they live in? How will the human react will she not be so sure? Or will she jump up and join the cause?
1. Chapter 1: Lonely Lake

Chapter 1: Lonely Lake

It seemed like hours since I first made my way into the forest. But then, maybe it wasn't; I did not own a cell phone or have a watch on me, so figuring out exact measurements of time was not an easy thing to do. Even then, however, I probably would not have cared too much about it. I was sick of the crap I knew was going to await me at the personal hell hole I called school and decided to play hooky for the day.

You know how everyone has those bad days where you think you will never be important or do anything that would make a difference in the wide world around you? These thoughts usually appear because of a tragedy, no matter how big or small, that impacts your life and changes who you are? And other times...it's just some jerk-wad who kicks you when your down for no reason whatsoever to make your life miserable.

For me, it's a certain girl named Kenya: the most popular girl in the school. Cliché, I know; high school students have that kind of life, though. It was due to her bullying and no one apparently seeming to care about my opinions or feelings on it, that made me decide to skip school in the first place. The night before, I had planned out the day and decided to stuff my backpack with my swimsuit and art kit instead of the books and other school supplies that were usually in it. And when my mom dropped me off and wished me a good day, I waited till she was out of site before making my way to a forest near the school. Luckily, the trip wasn't too far; the building was located on the outback of the town. And that, conveniently, was nearby the forest.

Finally making my way to what felt like the heart of the forest, I almost felt myself gasp from the rather large lake that stretched out before me. I had heard that there was a lake in the wood (hence why I brought a swimsuit in the first place), though I didn't expect it to be as big as it was. The light blue water lapped at the shore quietly as I placed myself under a willow tree and gazed out at the beauty around me. Suddenly, an idea struck me: I was, perhaps, one of the few people that actually knew about this part of the forest and of the crystal clear lake in front of me.

"I should give this place a name…," I placed my right hand on my chin as I thought deeply. A few minutes passed before I snapped my fingers. "Aha! I will call you Lonely Lake. Makes sense since I'm sure most people don't know you exist until they actually take the time to look!"

Nodding in satisfaction over the new name, I decided to lay back and close my eyes. The peacefulness of the atmosphere around me was making me want to just take a nap, but my mind instead began to figure out what I wanted to do first. Just as I was deciding between swimming in the lake or maybe taking my art kit out for a spin, though, a sound caught my ears that made me jump up to my feet on instinct. It was the sound of footsteps, and judging from the sound they made alone, I knew whatever was coming from the other side of the lake was big. Very...Very big…

Saying that I was not afraid would have been the biggest lie I would have ever told myself. Doing my best to hide behind the tree, I peeked out and waited to see what I would have to unfortunately face. But what finally appeared through the trees near my location made my jaw drop. I knew on a first glance, that it was some sort of robot; that part I could wrap my head around. But what was strange was that it was a robot I had never seen before, not even in the movies. The thing was huge, maybe even as big as the Willis Tower in Chicago, and it was adorned with some sort of blue and red paint on certain parts of its body.

Doing my best to stay silent, I maneuvered a bit more behind the tree as the robot made its way to the water's edge at the other side of the lake and sat down. Apparently, it hadn't noticed me and I continued to stare at it for a bit before curiosity started to take over. Very slowly and precise, I tip-toed through the woods to get closer. I had decided to stay away from the water's edge so it wouldn't see me. After all, I wasn't a complete idiot; the robot could be be some sort of invader with hostile intent.

Getting a few feet away, I finally was able to see more of the mysterious newcomer. There were windows on its chest piece and these big smoke stacks coming off his shoulders like it was some sort of semi-truck or fire engine. But the part that caught my attention the most was how the overall body gave the impression that it was...somehow human…

Suddenly, the thing turned its head in my direction and stared for a second before it raised one giant hand and made a motioning movement for me to come closer. My whole body felt like it had frozen...here I was, standing in the middle of a forest with a giant possibly dangerous robot only a few feet away from me and no way to take its picture or call for help. Reluctantly, I finally gulped and found some courage deep within myself as I adjusted my backpack and made my way towards it. The mechanical automaton must have realized how nervous I was, because it motioned the same hand for me to sit nearby it and waited until I did so before placing the hand back down and looking relieved.

"I know this must be a great surprise to you, human," the robot spoke with a deep male voice, its tone alone sounding important and full of power and wisdom. "But I must ask that you trust me when I say that I mean you no harm."

I stared up at the thing and gulped again, nodding. "O-Okay...?"

The robot leaned down a little as if to better have us see eye to eye, surprisingly being very formal with human interactions. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of The Autobots from a planet known as Cybertron. May I ask who you are?"

"I-I'm Nissa, just a normal human from Earth. It's nice to meet you, Optimus."

It nodded, as if mentally making a note of it. "Forgive me for intruding on your time here, I did not know others came to this place."

I quickly shook my head, "N-No it's fine! I didn't know people, or anything for that matter, came all the way out here either." Some moments of silence went between us before I spoke again, clearing my throat. "So um...what brings a giant robot like you out to a wood lake like this?"

A flash of amusement flashed through the face of the robot as it straightened up again. "As I stated before, I am the leader of The Autobots. We are a peaceful race that shares a common goal of uniting all races under a banner of peace. However, another group of Cybertronians known as The Decepticons declared war and began a campaign of chaos and death to our home, wanting to take it for themselves."

His tone darkened somewhat and he gazed out at the lake, as if remembering something he had dwelled on many times. "We fought hard and bravely against them...but our war destroyed Cybertron and the survivors were forced to flee into the confines of space. Eventually, I and some others, landed on this planet. The rest...I do not know..."

My eyes were wide with wonder as I took in all that Optimus had said. "Wow...that's so cool..."

Optimus gave me a strange look. "As for what I am doing here, I came to locate something vitally important and decided to start near the lake. Hence how I found you." He fully turned now, his gaze almost intimidating and serious. "Although, now that we have met. I must ask you one thing: do not tell anyone of my being here, or of the existence of The Autobots. If the world was to know about our kind, it would cause more trouble than good."

I nodded, "Of course I wont tell! I mean, who would believe me anyways about giant, sentient robots walking around through forests. They would most likely think I am crazy."

He narrowed his eyes as if to study me before sitting up again. Needless to say, I was more than thrilled that he believed me. Waiting a few more seconds to let my heartbeat go back to a decent speed and not thump loudly in my chest, I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off as Optimus stood up with a surprising speed. His head whirled to the side and one of his arms pulled out some sort of cannon weapon to point in that direction, "Get behind me, Nissa! Now!"

I quickly do as I'm told and stare out into the forest with Optimus, my heart back to its panicked speed as we both heard footsteps that sounded close to his own coming to our location. His grip tightened on the weapon and his trigger finger was about to fire it into the trees when a voice called out.

"Autobot Commander Optimus? Is that you?"

At the sound of whoever it was that was calling his name, Optimus relaxed and sighed heavily while putting the weapon away. From the trees, another huge robot walked out, this one looking ancient compared to Optimus. It's body was mostly painted white and pink with little bits of gold and a light blue here and there. Embedded in its chest was a large engine looking device with a red core that matched the robot's eyes while on its back was a pair of wings.

"Indeed, Vector Prime. Forgive me for not recognizing you earlier."

"It is I that should be forgiven," Vector Prime shook his head with a small frown etching onto his blue face. "I would have used the device you gave me for communication, but it seems the contraption does not wish to function. So, I figured that I would find you on foot, if necessary. I know it is dangerous, but these trees provide the cover needed for an escape of view."

Optimus nodded and looked past him as three smaller robots came running into view from behind. A sports car looking one was panting slightly as he looked up at Optimus but then saw me.

"Vector Prime..." he said hurriedly, pointing at me. "...It seems Optimus isn't alone! Look!"

All robots present besides Optimus turned their heads to me, making me hide more behind the leader's leg nervously. Vector Prime seemed to take an interest in me and his eyebrow raised. "I have...seen this one before, Prime. It would be wise to allow the girl to join our cause."

The three looked at Vector Prime as Optimus seemed to think for a second, nodding. Moving so I wasn't hiding behind him anymore, he then kneeled down so we were somewhat face to face. "Vector Prime insists that you join us, so I must take his word that you are indeed needed. Tomorrow is what you humans call a 'Saturday'; meet us back here at this very spot and we will bring you to home base. But remember what I asked earlier...I do not like those that break a promise."


	2. Chapter 2: Unknown Adventure Awaits

The rest of the day was uneventful, to say the least; what exactly could compete with meeting giant, sentient alien robots? And it was so hard to focus on anything except what Optimus and the one known as Vector Prime had told me. From what I could gather: they seemed to trust me, at least for now. Halfway through, I decided to call home sick so I could rest up for the day after and did my best to play the part of a normal, sick kid when my mom came to get me. She had doubts about me being sick, but didn't seem to bother me about it and let me rest when I came home. The only time she voiced an opinion was when I asked to go to the forest, but even then she just let me mind my own business.

And here I was, tomorrow now morphed into today, sitting in the backseat of my mother's car as my gaze looked out at everything whizzing past us.

"Thank goodness it's the weekend…"

My mom seemed to hear me as she looked back at me through overhead mirror. "You sure you are actually sick? I'd hate to learn that my daughter skipped the end of school so she could have a longer weekend."

I rolled my eyes, "I **was** sick yesterday, mom. But I feel a lot better today. It was probably just a stomach bug or something."

"Well, I still don't like the idea of you going into those woods. You don't have a phone or any other way you can contact someone if you need help. Plus, your phrasing of 'I'm going to stay out all day' is both admirable yet suspicious."

"Mom...Like I said yesterday, I wanted to get some fresh air outside of the house. What better place for that then the forest? There's clean air...fresh water..." I began listing things off, hoping to derail her suspicions.

"Wild animals…," My mother chimed in with a frown.

A sigh escaped me and I adjusted in my seat, feeling like I was on the spot at the moment. And knowing my mom, I had a high chance of that being right. Before I could think of an answer though, the car stopped and my mom turned herself fully towards me.

"Be safe, okay? I'll come get you round six tonight."

I smiled at her and nodded, giving her a quick hug before exiting the car. Honestly, I was surprised she was letting me go at all. Waving at her before she drove away, I turned back to the woods and took a deep breath before making my way in.

Luckily, I remembered how to get to the lake from the school and decided to enjoy the peace and quiet; who knew when the aliens would stop by to talk to me, if they would at all, so I figured I would make the most of it. Taking out my sketch book, I stopped here and there to draw something that caught my interest. Stopping in front of a rather large stump, I decided to sketch out the scenery in front of me when something caught my attention.

It was quiet. Like, more quiet than a forest would usually be.

Gulping for a second, I decided to put my sketchbook away and try to make it to the lake as quickly as I could. To my relief, I was closer to the lake then I had thought and took my place under the same tree I had been yesterday. For what seemed like hours, I sat there and waited for anyone to show up. But after some time, I was beginning to have my doubts about this whole thing.

"Well…this wasn't very well thought out, was it?"

Tossing a rock into the lake, I waited for a reply as if it would talk back, and sighed heavily. Perhaps I had thought about this too quickly; for all I knew, the Autobots may have moved on and only told me to come back as a sort of ploy to get them off my back. But then again...their leader, Optimus, seemed to be genuine enough. I had a feeling that he of all of them would not lie to me...

Suddenly, a low humming caught my attention, making my head whip up towards the direction of the sound. It sounded almost like a jet plane...which seemed out of place in a forest like this. Catching a glimpse of it in the distance, my senses screamed that I needed top stay out of sight. And that's exactly what I did. Hearing the sound get closer, I clutched my belongings closer to my chest and held my breath as I pressed my back to the tree. Ironically, I would later realize that it was the same tree as the one I hid before when I met Optimus..

The hovering sound soon slowed to a stop as a large shadow loomed near my location. I decided to take a risk and peek out to get a better grasp on the situation; for all I knew, it would have been one of the Autobots sent ahead of the others to meet up with me. From what I could tell, the jet was a strangely colored Sukhoi Su-37 and it had landed on the grass; the silver body highlighted with light blue on the underside and orange on the tips of the wings cockpit windshield.

"I know I spotted somethin' down here..." a male voice suddenly popped out from the aircraft, a slight southern drawl to it and the cockpit glowed a brighter shade of orange in time with what was being said.

Right in front of my eyes, I saw the jet transform. In mere seconds, what started as a jet turned into a robot similar to Optimus and Vector Prime's race; the body was a pure silver with light blue in the helmet on its head, the main body with the shoulders, and its feet. Watching the transformation was literally the best thing I had ever seen...though I began to wonder if Optimus and the other Autobots he mentioned could do the same.

"I hope its a Mini-Con. Lord Megatron will be mighty pleased if I bring one of them back to base. Shoot, he may even promote me for it!" The Cybertronian began to walk to the left of where I was standing, making me maneuver so he wouldn't see me. I had no idea what he was talking about, but it was strange hearing the robot talk to himself as he looked around like he was in some sort of anime cartoon.

Finally using the wings on its back, the robot began to hover around the top of the lake as he stared into it. "Scanners aren't picking anything up down there. The thing must still be in the forest somewhere..."

He quickened his speed and dashed back to the shore, landing when he knew he had solid ground to stand on. Looking in both directions, the Cybertronian frowned and began to try to make his way through the trees. The sounds of heavy footsteps and the random mumblings of the aircraft robot soon becoming fainter with every second.

As soon as I thought it was safe, I slowly began to creep out from behind the tree. Whatever it was that had landed was gone...at least I hoped.

"Okay, Nissa..." I whispered to myself, trying to stay calm as I took a few deep breaths. "Maybe having a phone would have been a good idea..."

My thoughts were cut off as the sound of footsteps coming back caught my attention and I quickly hid back behind the tree, hoping the robot hadn't heard me. To my relief, Optimus was the one that showed up this time, and I quickly made my way over to him.

"Ah, there you are," Optimus nodded at me as I made my way towards him. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as he saw the look on my face. "Is everything alright, Nissa?"

"O-Optimus, before we talk about whatever it is you wanted to tell me about, please tell me there was another robot with you?"

Optimus' eyes narrowed, "No other Autobot was dispatched to meet with you today other than myself, though my team is patrolling nearby just in case. Tell me, what did this other Cybertronian look like?"

Doing the best I could, I told Optimus about the jet transforming and saying something about Mini-Cons and a Lord Megatron as he was looking around. After everything was said, Optimus' frown deepened. Without another word, the Autobot kneeled down and held his hand open in front of me. "If what you say is true, ThunderCracker may come back and your life may be in grave danger. Please trust me when I say that we must move to a safer location."

Optimus' eyes widened and he suddenly grabbed me, rolling off to the side into the forest as a loud explosion erupted from where we were standing. Surprisingly, the grip he had on me didn't damage me in any physical way...except for maybe some slight bruising and my head spinning from it happening so fast. I found myself quickly being placed on the ground before Optimus turned and stood up, getting into a defensive stance. At first, I didn't understand why, but then I spotted an all too familiar jet transform near the middle of the lake.

"Well I'll be a Predacon's uncle, I found Optimus Prime!" The robot now known as ThunderCracker grinned, its arms crossed. "Lord Megatron may not get a Mini-Con today, but bringin' the dead Spark of an Autobot will surely bring a smile to his face."

"You picked the wrong day to instigate a fight, ThunderCracker..." Optimus growled, raising his weapon to the foe. "If you do not wish to be dismantled, leave now!"

ThunderCracker laughed. "Whatcha gonna do? You are confined to the ground, Auto-loser. What makes you think you can keep up?"

The enemy robot's laughing soon turned into a shriek of surprise and pain as a missile hit him in the back, making him fall into the water underneath him. Blinking in surprise, I looked up at the sky and was thoroughly surprised to see a Antonov An-225 cargo plane fly by.

"Mind if I butt in?," The cargo plane landed close by our location and transformed into a robot that had a white arms, head, and body, bulky green legs, and a helmet that covered his whole head unlike Optimus and the Decepticon.

"Perfect timing as usual, Jetfire!" Optimus nodded. "Can you handle ThunderCracker for me while I finish our mission?"

"Can do, mate." Jetfire gave Optimus a thumbs up, his Australian accent pitched in a way where you could tell he was grinning from his voice alone. "I was getting bored waiting anyways!"

A loud splash was heard as ThunderCracker hovered back into the fight, spluttering slightly. "Y-You damn Autobot! That was one mighty cheap shot you pulled!"

"Says the bloke who usually fires first instead of paying attention," Jetfire chuckled, morphing back into the cargo plane as he flew off. "Think you can take out another flyer, chump?"

"I'll make you eat those words, Jetfire!" ThunderCracker screamed out his challenge, morphing mid flight as he gave chase.

Optimus stood for a few seconds, expecting him to come back or for reinforcements to show up. But when nothing seemed to happen, he sighed with relief and looked at me. "Are you hurt, Nissa?"

"I-I think so..." I finally tried to stand up, my legs wobbly at first before I found my footing. "Is your friend going to be okay?"

"Jetfire can handle himself. Right now we need to worry about getting you back to our base." Optimus gently grabbed me and began to walk towards the entrance I came from. "More Decepticons may arrive if ThunderCracker calls for help."

Nodding, I sat down and began to rest since that was all I could do at the moment. All of this was happening so fast.


	3. Chapter 3: Autobot Comrades

It took a few minutes for Optimus to fully get clear of the trees. Upon coming close to where my mom dropped me off, he transformed into his fire-truck vehicle mode and opened a door for me to hop in. The ride over to wherever his main base was located seemed to be a long drive, as I recall zoning in and out of sleep for a bit before finally losing consciousness. I guess the dodge roll Optimus got caught up in had done more of a number on me than I realized.

Finally waking up for good a while after, I was greeted with the bright light from an overhead lamp on a ceiling, some sort of sleeping cot under me, and a small ringing in my ears. It took me a bit to realize that I was located in some sort of silver and gray command center, complete with computers and all sorts of other technological gizmos. Looking around, my first instinct was to go investigate...but I knew better than to just walk around on my own. Sitting for a second or two, I finally turn my attention to a pair of voices close by and realize that they belonged tot he Autobots I met earlier.

"Very well, Optimus. I shall analyze the Atlantis pattern and attempt to locate the Omega Lock." Vector Prime bowed slightly. "When JetFire is back from delaying ThunderCracker, I shall employ his assistance in the matter."

Trying to listen to what was being said, I had an urge to yawn and it came out louder than I realized. Before I knew it, an Autobot that looked like he was modeled after a white, red, and blue 2005 Dodge Magnum Emergency Vehicle turned to me. The helmet surrounding his head and chin was blue with a red visor and ear pieces, with only his golden colored cheeks and mouth area were visible.

"Optimus, sir! The human you brought back is awake!" The Autobot said in a slightly British accent as he motioned with one of his bulky blue and black arms for the others to join him before turning his attention to me. "You must be Nissa, correct? I'm Red Alert, the chief doctor, supply manager, and engineer for the team."

"That is not all he can do!" A fourth voice cut me off before I could reply, making all of those present turn our heads to the sound of a Chrysler ME Four-Twelve painted in a grayish blue with bits of red and black here and there screech to a stop before transforming in front of us. The robot in question had a silver face with bright blue eyes, giant shoulders with some sort of red attachment that shielded his back and neck, a fauld that covered his lower legs from behind made out of the car's yellow tinted windshield, and equally yellow gauntlets that covered him past his hands like mini-shields. "Red Alert also acts as our personal babysitter when our other human allies are around."

Red Alert growled slightly as he crossed his arms, "If I showed off as much as you do, then we all would definitely be in trouble."

The sports car robot responded with a grin, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head in a way that reminded me of a friend of mine back home. "Anyways, it's good to see you again. I'll wait to properly introduce myself until the others arrive. Which should be any minute now..."

I was about to open my mouth to show surprise at meeting more Autobots then the group in the room, but then I remembered that I had seen a few of them yesterday at the lake. And by the time I thought of a decent question to ask the newcomer, three new vehicles had arrived behind him and were already out of their robotic modes. Even Jetfire had returned back to base, looking a bit bedraggled but in good spirits overall.

"Autobots, front and center!" Optimus finally called out with his arms behind his back, making the other Autobots stand in a line in front of me at attention. "Since we are all here and accounted for, I wish to introduce you all to our newest human ally."

Nodding to Red Alert, Optimus began with him. "You have already met our chief Science Officer and Medical Expert for the team. And as one of our fellow Autobots pointed out, Red Alert is also the one in charge of the safety of our home base and other human allies while we are away. However, he is also a long-time veteran of the Cybertron Wars and is one of three members of the Cybertron Defense Team, so do not expect this medical officer to merely cower from a fight."

He pointed to both Jetfire and the sports car Autobot next, "Jetfire is my Deputy Commander and overall Wing Commander of the team. Sometimes my second in command does not agree with my orders, yet I respect him gratefully for his outbursts to question things I may have overlooked or dwelled too much thought into. And next to him is Hot Shot: the second member of the Cybertron Defense Team alongside Red Alert. And though young and sometimes recklessly brash with a head as hot as his lifespark, he is a brave soldier and a superb racer."

As Hot Shot winked at me, I saw the next Autobot Optimus pointed out roll his eyes. This one was short, painted in yellow and brown with a silver face that contrasted his dark blue eyes. The overall look of the body made me realize that it was the one who had transformed from a Payloader construction vehicle. "Landmine is a respected and trusted adviser who used to be with Rodimus before joining our cause. He is both a valued friend and aggressive warrior."

"Nice to meet you, kid." Landmine said in a gruff voice, though his smile seemed kind enough.

"The Autobot before you is named Scattershot, and he is our technical expert and Base Defense Official who is the last member of the Cybertron Defense Team. Don't let his hesitant nature fool you; this Autobot makes sure to handle all duties with precision." Optimus continued, motioning to the Autobot who was standing directly in front of me. The blue and yellow Autobot with parts from a half-track rocket launcher vehicle sticking up from his back gave me a small wave, his soft southern accent slipping as he gave me a hello as well.

I waved back and looked to the next Autobot and blinked in surprise to what I saw.

"What's with the funny look, human?" The gold and white lion looking robot with large black shoulders growled, his tail swishing in annoyance. "You got something to say then spit it out."

Seeing as how I upset him, I tried to back pedal a bit. "I'm just surprised that there are Cybertronians that look like animals. Where you always like this?"

The lion shook his head, "Once upon a time, I was named Overhaul and looked just like my Autobot brothers. But after a trip to Jungle Planet to stop Megatron's plans, I became a powerful new powerful being after merging with the planet's Bestial Cyber Key. From there..well, the rest is history, as you humans say."

My eyes widened. "Can you transform into a bi-pedal form like the others?"

Without any words or motions, Leobreaker began to transform. The lion's face became a chest piece while a new, silver face with sharp pointed teeth protruding up from the lower jaw and piercing red eyes popped into a spiked black helmet with a flowing ponytail on the back that was made from a part of the mane. And finally, in its clawed hands, it held its tail like a whip or some sort of flail weapon.

Seeing Leobreaker in his new form, I felt a gasp of awe escape me. All of the other Autobots looked human to some extent...but this one was feral and strangely regal at the same time. Apparently he saw how I was acting because he smirked and tilted his head a little. "Like what you see, human?"

"I'm sure she would if you did not eye her like some sort of Predacon..." Scattershot mumbled, making both Hot Shot and Jetfire chuckle, the jet robot trying to hide his with a cough. This however caused Leobreaker to turn to them and snarl fiercely, making Scattershot yelp in fright and hide behind Landmine.

"Cool your engines, all of you!" Vector Prime commanded, his eyes narrowed as he walked over in between them. "Is acting like a Decepticon any way to be in front of our newest guest and ally?"

Leobreaker huffed and turned from the others to go about his business, making Optimus sigh heavily. "Do not mind him, Nissa. He is rough around the edges, but his Spark is pure and compassionate."

I nod and look over at Vector Prime, "I remember seeing you yesterday as well. What is your story, Vector?"

The ancient robot looked at Optimus as if to ask him something and looked back at me when Optimus nodded. "Since you do not know much about our history, let me try my best to simplify it for you to understand. Before any of us standing here even existed, there was once a great Cybertronian named Primus. It was this great being that made myself and my brothers, the Original Thirteen Primes, who were all appointed tasks to preserve peace. My function was one that act as a safeguard for all of the Multiverse; a guardian of space and time itself. The reason for our creation was to battle the threat of Primus' eternal foe: Unicron the Chaos-Bringer. Through many timelines and alternate realities, I have made it my duty to help protect the Multiverse from Unicron and his evil. An evil which will one day threaten this planet, I am afraid."

I took in all that he had said and looked at Optimus with a slight hint of fear in my eyes. "Is...Is Unicron actually here?"

"Not entirely, but this planet holds the Omega Lock which focuses the power of the Cyber Keys." Jetfire stated.

A moment of hesitation crossed his face before he realized something, "Wait...has she not been informed of our mission?"

Landmine sighed heavily, "Then now would probably be a good time to bring it up, wouldn't it?"

Red Alert rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, "You were already briefed on what the Decepticons are, correct?"

Seeing me nod, he continued. "Well that covers a lot of ground. Alright, then I will describe the Cyber Keys for you: the Cyber Keys in question are tiny fragments of Primus' lifespark. And the Omega Lock is something that holds them all together. With the combined powers of all Cyber Keys and the Omega Lock to enhance and focus their power, we can finally destroy the black hole that threatens to crumble the entire cosmos."

"Wait, a black hole?!" I almost jump a little out of my spot on the medical table. "How did that get added into all of this?"

Leobreaker seemed to jump back into the conversation from where he was sitting, "When we battled the Decepticons on our home planet, our war was stalled by the appearance of Unicron. Our combined force was strong enough to destroy the Chaos-Bringer, yet it was too much for the rest of the universe to handle."

Scattershot butted in, "You could say that we have been battlin' the Decepticons for ages. So much war and destruction, I'm not surprised the rest of the universe decided enough was enough."

All Autobots in the room fell into a moment of silence, as if honoring those who were lost before this day. I decided to be the first to speak and try to get their mind off of whatever was troubling them. "So...you mentioned other human allies besides myself?"

Landmine nodded, "That's right. Other than you being added to the mix, we have our original three musketeers named Rad, Carlos, and Alexis. But now we also have you and three others: Coby, Bud, and Lori."

"When we are able to, I will have them meet you here in person," Optimus nodded. "Alright, the meeting is over, Autobots. Let's get back to our prime objective and find the Cyber Keys and the Omega Lock!"

The other bots dispersed to do their own thing, but Scattershot and Jetfire stayed behind to talk with Optimus.

"Optimus, sir," Scattershot looked up at his commander. "I analyzed the data Vector Prime gave me with Red Alert and the others. We have deduced that more information is needed before we can take action."

"Shouldn't be a problem for us, Optimus." Jetfire replied right after, giving the leader a thumbs up. "We just need to collect more data on Earth. I'll have Red Alert contact the kids to see if we can get some inside help as well."

"Then prepare to employ them with the mission as soon as you can, Jetfire." Optimus sounded decently happy with the decision and went to talk to Vector Prime about something.

A sudden burst of energy seemed to flow in my veins upon hearing that they may need help from us Earthlings. Before I knew what I was saying, I raised my hand up as high as I could. "I want to come along and help!"

The present Autobots looked at me with a look of surprise and alarm. Realizing that I almost yelled at the top of my voice when I made the outburst, I blushed red and hunkered down a little from embarrassment.

"Seems like we got ourselves a volunteer!" Leobreaker chuckled.

"Y-You should really think about this before deciding so quickly," Scattershot stammered. "This isn't just some game, its a mission of-"

"Now hold on to your Spark, Scattershot. I think we could use another human to help out with recon." Landmine nodded, crossing his arms in approval.

"You will come along soon enough." Optimus placed a finger on my head as if to keep me from moving.

"Let the girl come with us on a mission, Prime. She can ride with me if she really needs to be partnered up for safety reasons." Jetfire stepped up next to me and looked Optimus in the eye. "And Landmine is right; it would be more help to our human allies and they can meet her at the same time. We all have a double win."

Optimus stared back at Jetfire and the room became tense. It was as if two opposing forces were colliding until one decided to give in. Finally, Optimus sighed and nodded before taking the finger off of my head.

"Wait...doers that mean I can really come with you guys?" I asked Jetfire excitedly before jumping into his hand when he opened it for me.

"Of course! And don't worry, Uncle Jetfire will take good care of you. Decepticons or high water, no one is laying a finger on ya." The robot laughed and gave me a small fist bump so he wouldn't hurt my hand.

"Shall I prepare the launch bay, then?" Scattershot walked over to a control panel and looked over at the rest of us, awaiting a signal.

Jetfire gave a thumbs up and I was about to comment on something when I suddenly had a thought and my eyes widened. "Hold up...What time is it?"

"The time according to your planet is..close to six o'clock in the evening." Red Alert tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"

I almost leaped off of Jetfire, forgetting I was so high off the ground to the point where the bot had to stop me with one of his fingers. "M-My mom was going to pick me up at the forest around that time. I need to get back there so she doesn't suspect anything!"

The team shared a glance with each other before Optimus spoke, "Alright, here is the plan: Jetfire, you need to take Nissa back to her last location as fast as you can. But also be careful not to draw attention to yourself!"

"So...what's life like as a human?" Jetfire's voice seemed to echo through the cockpit of his vehicle mode, alerting me to the fact that he was still here. I had completely forgotten that the cargo plane I was flying in was still an Autobot in disguise.

Putting my phone down, I thought for a moment and shrugged at the cockpit controls since I didn't know where exactly to look when speaking to him. "Life is alright, I guess; could be better but also could be way worse."

There was a moment of hesitation before I continued, trying to keep my situation vague. I know they were slowly becoming trustworthy friends and teammates, but they were still robots. And knowing how those are concerned, there was no telling whether or not they could understand what I was saying and want to care. "Never really thought about it, to be honest. I mean, human nature makes us partake in things we don't even know is happening and we dwell on mistakes just as bad as we try our best to forgive."

"That's pretty deep for a young one like yourself to be dwelling on, mate." Jetfire replied. "Well, hopefully things will get better when you meet the other kids. 'Strength in numbers', or whatever that expression is."

Shortly after that, we arrived at the lake and Jetfire made his leave after seeing me off and making sure I was going to be safe by myself. He also told me that I should start looking into some intel and recon while I was off-base so we could give data to Optimus when we met up again. Seeing my mom drive up a few seconds after Jetfire had taken off, I sighed with relief knowing that I could at least rest in my bed after a long day like this.


	4. Chapter 4: An Unfortunate Weekend

It had been a week since I met the Cybertronians, and I got to say they are quite the lively bunch. Though on this particular day, the Autobot base didn't feel like it; Optimus, Red Alert, and Clocker left on a mission to help Hotshot in some remote region in space called Velocitron, also known as 'Speed Planet'. Apparently there was a big race being held with the winning prize being something that we deemed valuable to the team and left with haste to retrieve it.

Since it was out in space and I had no experience in that department, Red Alert had left me with Scattershot, Vector Prime, Landmine and Jetfire. Which, honestly, made me relieved and grateful for a few reasons: One was that I wouldn't be lonely and could have someone to converse with. Two, it made multitasking watching the base and watching the data on the monitors more manageable. And finally, the most obvious, I'm only human; if a Decepticon found this place, I wouldn't be able to do much but hide and wait for them to leave.

Hours had gone by since the small team had left and even watching the monitors couldn't help the boredom I was feeling. Mostly because I could not understand what was going on. Optimus, Red Alert, and Hot Shot were speeding down some raceway followed by a few Decepticons I recognized and some female Cybertronian named Override. One positive though was that I was able to rest on the sleeping cot they gave me, which was surprisingly comfy. plus the added bonus of being able to see all the screens and a bit of the base meant that I could perform security AND watch the data at the same time.

"You're bored 'aint ya?" Scattershot's voice broke me out of the sleepy stupor I was in. It made me realize that a yawn had escaped me while I was watching the monitor and the robot had noticed while he tinkered with something

Unable to figure out a response for his question, I looked over at him and shrugged, "A little bit. Everyone else is out being busy and I'm still here. Kind of annoying don't you think?"

"Well shiela, some of us have to hold down the fort in case the Depticons try anything here on Earth," Jetfire responded as he walked up to my location, repeating Optimus' orders back to me.

I noticed that Vector Prime had put himself into a thinking pose, a hand underneath his chin as if putting my words into thought. "Well…," he began, "...the Decpticons are mainly busy on Animatron and Velocitron. Chances of the rogues trying something here on Earth is low."

His words caught Scattershot's attention. "S-So if one or two of us wanted to take Nissa out f-for somethin', we could?"

"It would be like recon!" I jumped in. "After all, Scattershot himself said last week that we needed more information before we make another move."

"If you keep that enthusiasm up, you might end up hurting yourself that way" Landmine's voice echoed through the room as he walks, in causing all the attention to go to him.

"'Hello to you too, mate." Jetfire greets him, chuckling a little as he shook his head slightly.

"I'm not _that_ enthusiastic..." I point out, crossing my arms in slight annoyance.

Vector Prime seems to notice, clearing his throat as he tried to change the subject. "This is only your second time here, young human. Since we cannot get together more often, is there any questions that you still need answering?"

I turn my head to look at him, curious to what he meant by 'get together'. I decide to ask a very simple question for now, shrugging. "You mentioned Cyber Planet Keys last time, right? Is that why the Autobots are racing?"

Landmine was the first to respond, deciding to rejoin the conversation as he sat near the monitors. "You got that right kid; Hotshot found out that in order to get the Cyber Planet Key, you have to win a racing tournament. The grand prize is actually the planet's Cyber Key.,"

"Is that why Leobreaker went to Jungle Planet as well?" I asked, remembering that a few days ago, the animal Autobot went on his own to anther planet he called Beast Planet. The planet's name alone confused me, but Jetfire made it worse when he told me that depending on who you asked, Planet Animatron had many nicknames.

"Indeed; we haven't located the Cyber Planet Key of that area just yet. Their leader, Scourge, is quite the pain to get around accordin' to Leobreaker. But we agree on the deduction that Scourge knows where the Key is and isn't telling us." Scattershot joined in as he gives input, making Vector Prime nod as if the information was old news to him. The idea that Vector Prime knew so much didn't surprise me as much as it used to anymore.

Suddenly a beeping siren from the monitors caught our attention. Landmine was already checking the feed, a red spot appearing on the footage of the race. The relayed info made Vector Prime gasp and take out his sword. "A cave-in has happened on the track. Landmine, let's go. We must assist our Autobot brothers!"

The gruff Autobot nodded and quickly followed Vector Prime through an open portal, the thing quickly closing as it appeared when they were gone. I look back on the screen and see the whole situation play out before me: Vector Prime arrived on the scene with Landmine. Optimus transformed into his fire-truck vehicle mode soon after and drove off with Landmine to the spot where the cave-in happened, where in the meantime Hotshot had saved Override who was about to get run over by a big boulder. Then Optimus, Hotshot, Clocker, and Landmine help put out a fire caused by the explosion. Eventually, at the end, Hotshot came in second place, which made everyone relieved that the drama was over.

Everything looked so exciting when the Autobots were out on missions. It was at this point that I began to wonder if I was ever going to go out in the field with them…Realizing that the others may notice how I was feeling and not wanting to worry them, I pretend to wipe my brow and turn back to them. "Phew, I'm glad that's over with."

"Yeah, but there sure was a lot of drama weren't there? Decpticon punks pullin' cheat cards." Scattershot replies with a mumble as he crosses his arms.

A response had formed in my head, but the distracting buzz of my phone made me lose it. Looking down at it, my eyes widen a little. "I have to get going pretty soon, I'll keep looking for some more data for you guys."

Jetfire turns his attention to me, "It's almost six in the evening...is your mom picking you up?" His voice sounded worried.

"Yeah…I really wish I could stay longer." I gave a light shrug, "I really wanted to see the other bots when they came back."

"Eh, don't worry kid. You'll see them soon." Scattershot responds as Jetfire comes next to me, his hand scooping me up.

"Well, Uncle Jetfire is gonna take you home, alright? Scattershot prepare the launch bay."


End file.
